Bomb rack adapter



Nov. 9, 1965 M. J. WENGER ETAL 3,216,322

BOMB RACK ADAPTER Filed'March 9, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 MAURICE J. WENGER L WlLLIAM *wg/,LR ATTORNEYS NOV 9, 1965 M. J. WENGER ETAL 3,216,322

BOMB RACK ADAPTER Filed March 9, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 m .mi

@NH @l INVENTORS MAURICE J. WENGER wlLL|AM H. HAZLETT, JR. BY t ATTORNEYS NOV 9, l965 M. J. WENGER ETAL 3,216,322

BOMB RACK ADAPTER 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 9, 1964 INVENTORS CE J. WENGER HAZLETT, JR.

ATTORNEYS MAUR! BY WILLI .Q

United States Patent O 3,216,322 BOMB RACK ADAPTER Maurice J. Wenger, Philadelphia, and William H. Hazlett, Jr., Warrington, Pa., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed Mar. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 350,620 6 Claims. '(Cl. 89 1.5) (Granted under Title 35, U.S. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by and for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

The present invention relates to a bomb rack adapter and more particularly to 'an adapter for carrying and ejecting bombs at high speeds.

Present training devices using practice bombs for pilot training utilize a flat plate suspended horizontally from a bomb rack which, in turn, is suspended on an aircraft and to which is mounted a number of small bomb racks that carry Va number of practice bombs. Since both bombs and racks are exposed to the air stream this adapter unit is limited in use to low speeds and cannot be utilized for presently needed high speed pilot training.

Another -apparatus presently used in pilot training is a streamlined container which carries four practice bombs and which is loaded by means of an external bomb-carrying cradle which is hand cranked to force the bomb into the bomb bay against a large compression spring. The spring, in turn, provides the energy to eject the bomb after the doors are opened by a linear actuator. It is seen that this operation is a time consuming and hazardous one and one which will not meet the present demands for quick operation.

The present invention contemplates an apparatus which possesses none of the aforedescribed disadvantages. The present invention contemplates the use of a streamlined shell which is secured to -a bomb rack and has a plurality of bays into which are placed removable compartments. These compartments house the practice bomb, the door operating mechanism, the cartridge actuated ejector unit, and the bomb support release band.

It is an object of this invention to provide a bomb rack adapter for carrying and ejecting a bomb or store and for use at high speeds.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an arrangement whereby a plurality of bombs may be loaded upon a carrying and ejecting aircraft in a manner which obtains maximum safety and uses a minimum of elapsed time.

A further object is to provide a self-contained bomb compartment of high reliability, efficiency and safety.

A still further lobject is to provide a self-contained bomb compartment for carrying and ejecting practice bombs at high speeds for pilot training.

Various other objects and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the disclosure is made in the following `detailed description of an embodiment of the invention Vas illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a bottom view of the streamlined shell of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of one of the removable compartments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a vieW taken along the line 3 3 `of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4 4 of FIG. 2 illustrating two removable compartments a-s inserted within the streamlined shell with certain parts removed for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a single door latch mechanism as shown in FIG. 4;

3,216,322 Patented Nov. 9, 1965 FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 6 6 'of FIG. 2 with certain parts removed for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 7 7 of FIG. 3 with certain parts removed for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 8 8 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken through the center line 'of the width of the suspension band latch mechanism as shown in FIG. 4.

Referring now to FIGS. l and 4, there is shown therein a streamlined container assembly or shell generally indicated at 1lb, having a nose portion 11 and a tail assembly 12 and a body portion 13. A plurality :of lugs 14, FIG. 4, are rigidly secured to the uppermost portion of the body -assembly 13 for releasable engagement with hooks, not shown, on a bomb rack, also not shown. Within the body portion 13 of the container assembly 10 is formed a plurality of bomb bays 17 for receiving a concomitant number of similar removable bomb compartment assemblies generally indicated at 20 and each housing a bomb or store 21. As can be more readily seen in FIG. 4, the container assembly 10 is horizontally divided in-to an upper section .15 and a lower section 16; the lower section is vertically divided to form the bomb bays 17. It is understood that although four bays are shown, more or less bays may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Within the nose portion 11 of the container assembly 10 is located a selector mechanism 19 having electric communication with a complementary number of breach cap assemblies 23 formed as part of the container assembly 10 and located at each bay location 17.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 8 for a description of a representative removable bomb compartment assembly 20, the assembly 2t) is illustrated as including a rectangular shell unit 25 having side walls 25a, upper Wall 25b and a pair of longitudinally extending door assemblies 26 at the lower portion thereof, only one of which will now be described. Adjacent each door assembly 26 and secured to an end wall 27 of the rectangular removable compartment assembly 20 is a door track bracket 28 having an elongated slot 29 formed therein. A link arm 30 is pivotally connected at one end 30a thereof to lugs 31 rigidly secured to the door 26 adjacent the end thereof and pivotally connected at its other end 3011 to the bracket 28. A guide pin 33 is rigidly secured to the edge lof the door 26 and engages and is guided by the elongated slot 29 formed in th-e bracket 28 when the door 26 is moved between the closed and the open position.

Still referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 8, a bracket member 35 having upstanding lugs 36 is secured to the end wall 27 of the compartment 20. An elongated latch arm 40 having a hook portion 41 at one end thereof is pivotally connected for limited movement to the bracket assembly 35 by means of pivot pin 42 which extends through the lugs and the lower portion of the latch `arm 40. A spring member 45 is interposed between the bracket 35 and the latch arm 40 to bias the hook portion 41 in a direction outwardly of the compartment and in the direction shown by the arrows. Latch arm 40 extends upwardly beyond the confines of the compartment 20 and through an elongated aperture 48 formed in the upper wall 25b of the compartment 20; ,the latch arm is utilized for engaging a complementary slot 49 formed in the body portion 13 of the container assembly 10 to secure the compartment 20 to the container 10.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 6, the upper wall 25b of the compartment 20 has secured thereto a sway brace .assembly generally indicated at 50. Assembly 50 includes a yoke member 51 for engaging the bomb or store 21 and has centrally journaled therein an externally threaded shaft 52 having a head 53 thereon formed for receiving a tightening apparatus7 not shown. The upper wall 25b of the compartment 20 has an aperture 54 formed therein and receives an internally threaded boss member 55 threaded for receiving the shaft member S2. It is readily observed that the bracing assembly is vertically adjustable by the -application of a wrench or other appropriate apparatus to the shaft 52 which upon rotation will vertically position the yoke member 51. In order to lock the sway brace in the desired adjusted position, a sway brace adjusting nut 56 is provided to threadably engage shaft 52 and abut the boss 55. A guide 57 is additionally provided to preclude the rotation of yoke 51 when the same is vertically adjusted.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 7, there is illustrated therein a pair of longitudinally spaced bracket assemblies 60 rigidly secured to the side walls 25a of the compartment 2t) and intermediate the longitudinal extent thereof; bracket assembly 60 includes a pair of downwardly extending parallel spaced support lugs 62. Pivotally connected to the laterally spaced lugs 62 by transverse pivot pin 63 is a door support arm 65. Support arm 65 is freely pivoted intermediate the length thereof and has the lower end 66 thereof abutting the transverse mid portion of the longitudinally extending door 26 thereby providing door 26 with longitudinal bracing support to resist the outside forces which would otherwise tend to bow the same; the outward forces are developed by the atrnosphere when traveling at supersonic speeds. Further, the lower end 66 acts as a pivot point about which the door 26 rotates. As is observed from the drawings7 arms 65 are positioned by a gravity to engage the doors 26 when the doors are in the closed position, and being freely pivoted at pin 63, the arms 65 will be readily movable to a position adjacent the side wall 25a when the doors 26 are opened and the bomb or other `store 21 is passed therethrough. The bomb 21 in being ejected from the container 20 engages the arms 65 and urges the same toward this position adjacent the side wall 25a, the arms 65 offering but little resistance to the bomb movement.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 for a description of the bomb ejection and door opening mechanism, the compartment 20 has formed in the upper wall 25b thereof intermediate the length of the container 2t) an aperture 69 for receiving an ejecting vmechanism generally noted at '70. The ejector assembly 70 is designed at one end thereof to receive the aforementioned breach cap assembly 23 which is formed as part of the container assembly. Breach cap assembly 23 is of conventional construction and further description thereof is deemed unnecessary. The ejector 70 includes a breach portion 71 having an upper externally and internally threaded collar portion 71a for threadably receiving the aforementioned breach cap assembly 23 and a lower collar portion 71b being externally threaded for engagement with the internally threaded portion of a cylinder 73. A piston 74 is slidable within the cylinder 73 and has 4a shear pin connection 75 with the breach 71. An O-ring 76 is disposed at the lower portion of the cylinder 73 between the cylinder and the piston 74. A vacating port 78 is provided through the wall of the cylinder 73 to provide external communication with the interior of the cylinder. Cylinder 73 includes a ange 73a and has a lower externally threaded portion which is engaged by a locking nut 79 for retaining ejector assembly 70 to the removable compartment 26.

A saddle member 80 having a centrally located -recessed hub portion 81 is connected through the hub portion 81 to the lower portion of the piston 74 by a quick-release pin S3 and further includes outwardly of the hub portion 81 a pair of parallel pin members 85.

A suspension apparatus generally indicated at 90 comprises suspension bands 91 `and 92 which are precurved of a thin tensile strength spring steel to form a partial circumferential envelope for the bombs. Suspension band 91 has a loop formed -at one end thereof tted about pin which is journaled for rotary movement within the saddle member S. Suspension band 92 also has one end thereof looped about and fitted to the other pin 85 also journaled for rotation within the saddle 80. The other end of band 91 is also formed with ia looped portion 91a and securely houses a locking bar 94. As observed in FIG. 9, the central portion of the loop adjacent the locking pin 94 may be removed to receive the complementary latch lmember 93 which is integrally formed to the other end of 4suspension band 92. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the loop portion 91a of suspension band 91 has formed therein a safety pin receiving loop 99. Complementary latch portion 98 includes a transverse aperture 100 for receiving a quick-release safety pin 101. Quick-release pin 101 is maintained in operative engagement during the charging operation of the container and is subsequently removed =as will be indicated below in the description of the operation of the device. In order to disengage the locking bar 94 and the complementary latch portion 98, a leaf spring member 102 of metal or the like is secured to the complementary latch 98.

In addition to the above-mentioned features and with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the saddle member S0 further includes bell crank engaging lugs vat its outer ext-remities for actuating a bell crank lever which is pivotally connected by pin 116 to the side wall 25a of the compartment 20. Also, rigidly secured to the side Wall 25a of the compartment 20 is a saddle guide 118 in the form of an angle section with one flange thereof secured to the side wall 25a and the other flange functioning to guide the movement of the lug 110 into engagement with an arm 120 of the bell crank lever 115. A fork link member operable to open the door 26 is pivotally connected at one end 126 thereof to a clevis bracket 127 which in turn is rigidly secured to the outer edge of the door 26. The other end of the fork link member 125 has a clevis portion 136 including an elongated slot 131 for pivotal connection through pin 132 with the outer extremity of the other arm 121 of the 'bell `crank 115. By -reason of the elongated solt 131 formed in the clevis portion 130, the bell crank can be rotated about the pin 116 for a dlstance depending on the extent of the elongated slot 131 without having any force transferred through the fork llnk 125 to the door 26. This movement permits the door latch mechanism to be operative to unlock the doors for opening thereof -as will be described more fully below.

Intermediate the pivot pin 116 and the clevis portion 1s an additional clevis member 135 pivotally connected to the arm 121 of the bell crank lever 115 by pin 136. Clevis member 135 is operatively connected to the door latch mechanism generally noted at through exrble coupling member 141 which is adjustably connected at one end thereof to a clevis member 135.

Referring to FIG. 5, the door latch mechanism 140 includes a clevis-lug member 141 rigidly secured to the edge of the door 26. A slotted recess 143 is formed w1th1n the clevis-lug member 141 for slidably receiving a locking pin 145 which in turn has slidable locking engagement within an aperture 147 formed Within the side wall 25a of the compartment 20. A toggle link 148 is pivotally connected by pivot pin 149 to the clevis-lug member 141 and includes a projection 150 for extending within a slot 151 yformed within the locking pin 145 whereby the pin 145 may be moved between an engaging and dlsengaging position within the aperture 147 of the sidewall 25a when the projection 150 is caused to rotate about the pivot pin 149. The other end of the toggle link 148 is connected through pin 154 to the flexible coupling member 141. An additional clevis member 152 including an external locking pin 153 is pivotally connected by pivot pin 151 to the toggle link 148 and provides an external means for withdrawing pin 145 from engagement within the aperture 147. As more clearly J seen in FIG. 4, a spring member 155 biases the toggle link 148 in such a manner as to urge pin 145 into engagement with the sidewall 25a and pin 153 externally of the door 26.

Arm 121 of the bell crank lever 115 is operatively connected through clevis 135 and flexible element 141 to the toggle 148 to actuate and release pin 145 from engagement within the aperture 147 immediately upon rotation of the bell crank lever 115. This arrangement is more clearly shown in FIG. 3, and a detailed description thereof will be found below.

In order to return the doors 26 to the closed position thereof upon the release of the bomb or store 21, a door return shaft 160 is pivotally connected through pin 161 to a clevis bracket 163 which in turn is secured adjacent the outer edge of the door 26. Shaft 160 is slidable in a vertical direction through a collar 164 formed on a guide bracket 165 which in turn is rigidly secured to the sidewall 25a of the compartment 20. A compressioin spring 167 is interposed between the collar 164 and a flange 169 on the shaft 160 for urging the door toward a downwardly or closed position.

In order to permit the bomb or store 21 to clear the compartment assembly and the associated doors 26 before the doors return to their closed position, a door check assembly generally noted at 180 is secured to the compartment assembly 20. Referring now to FIG. 3, a bell crank lever 190 is pivotally connected through pin 191` to the sidewall 25a of the compartment 20. One arm 192 of the bell crank lever 190 is pivotally connected to a shaft 194 which is movable within a fluid cylinder generally indicated at 195. Fluid cylinder 195 is rigidly secured to the end wall 27 of the compartment assembly and may be of any conventional construction which regulates the travel and movement of the shaft 194 within the cylinder 195. A spring 196 is interconnected between the arm 192 and the sidewall 25a to bias the arm 192 in a counterclockwise direction and to extend the shaft 194 inwardly of the fluid cylinder 195. The other arm 197 of the bell crank lever 190 has a forked arrangement at the extremity thereof with a slot 200 formed between prongs 204 and 205 adapted to receive a stud 207 rigidly secured to the door 26. As seen in FIG. 3, the stud is positioned to be engaged by prong 204 and urged thereby into slot 200 when the door 26 is opened by the operation of bell crank lever 115. For the purpose of permitting the stud 207 to enter the slot 200, the prong 205 is of shorter configuration than prong 204. Also, by reason of the contiguration of the prong 205, the stud 207 will disengage itself from the forked assembly after a lapse of time suicient to permit the bomb 21 to clear the door 26 and then permit the door 26 to be quickly thrust by compression springs into the closed position; this occurs after the shaft 194 has moved inwardly of the uid cylinder 195 and the bell crank assumes the dotted line position illustrated in FIG. 3.

A description of the operation of the present invention is as follows: By means of the external locking pin 153, the locking pin 145 is withdrawn from engagement within the sidewall 25a of the compartment 20 which permits the doors 26 to be urged to the open position. A bomb 21 is placed within the compartment 20 and the suspension bands 91 and 92 are wrapped about the same. The locking bar is biased against the leaf spring 102 of the latch member 98 and a pin 101 is inserted through the safety pin loop 99 and transverse aperture 100 to thereby place the bomb in the latched position against the saddle member 80.

The sway brace assembly 50 is operated by rotating the shaft 52 downwardly to thereby cause the yoke 51 to engage the top portion of the bomb 21 and to thereby firmly urge the bomb against the latch mechanism 94-98. This urging also causes the bomb 21 to separate a slight distance away from the bottom of the saddle member 80 to the position illustrated by the solid line position of the 6 left side of FIG. 4. The construction of the locking bar 94 and the complementary latch member 98 is such that the quick-release pin 101 may be removed.

The doors 26 are closed and the compartment 20 inserted within the bomb bays 17 of the container assembly 10 by moving the compartment upwardly within the shell 10 until the latch arm 40 engages the appropriate receiving portion of the container assembly 10. The ejector assembly 70 is then locked in place by locking nut 79 and the breach cap assembly 23 is connected to the breach portion 71 of the ejector assembly 70.

The operator selects a particular bomb to be ejected by operation of selector mechanism 19 which, through breach cap assembly 23, causes piston 74 and the associated saddle member to move through the distance separating the top of the bomb 21 and the bottom of the saddle member 80 downwardly toward the position shown by the dotted lines of FIG. 4. This sudden initial downward movement of the saddle member 80, and the suspension apparatus 90 secured thereto (through pins through the aforementioned distance creates a shock wave which in turn causes slack in the latch mechanisrn whereby the leaf spring 102 causes the disengagement of the locking bar 94 within the complementary latch member 98. Unlatching of the suspension apparatus thereby permits the bomb 21 to be ejected by the saddle member 80.

As the saddle member 80 moves downwardly, the bell crank engaging lugs thereon engage the bell crank to rotate the same in a oounterclockwise direction. The initial upward movement of the arm 121 of the bell crank 115 causes the toggle link 148 to rotate about its pivot point 149 and to thereby disengage locking pin 145 from its locking engagement with the sidewall 25a of the compartment 20. Further upward movement of arm 121 causes the pin 132 to reach the uppermost portion of the elongated slot 131 formed in the fork link member 125 and additional rotation in an upward direction causes the fork link member to open the door assembly 26. Pin 33 in the door 26 travels upwardly within the vertical slot 29 of the door track bracket 28 and the door assumes a vertical position adjacent the sidewalls 25a of the compartment 20, as shown in the right side of FIG. 4. As the door 26 is moved upwardly, spring 160 is compressed to store energy for the subsequent closing of the door.

As the door 26 is urged to the lopen position by the upward movement of the fork link member 125, stud 207 engages within the slot 200 of the bell crank lever and upward movement thereof causes the bell crank lever 190 to move shaft 194 outwardly of the cylinder 195.

When the piston 74 reaches the end of the stroke thereof, the bomb is ejected and the compression springs 160 urge the door 26 to the closed position. The closure of the doors is delayed until the shaft 194 returns within the cylinder 195 a distance sufficient to release the stud 207 from its engagement between the fork members 204 and 205. When stud 207 is so released, the compression springs 160 quickly return the doors to the closed position.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangement of parts, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A unied self-contained unit for housing and ejecting a store comprising in combination:

a housing including a pair of parallel sidewalls and having a longitudinally extending door between said sidewalls;

ejection means secured to said housing for selectively ejecting the store from said housing, said ejection means including a cylinder extending from within said housing to a point externally of said housing, a

piston movable within said cylinder in response to a propelling force, saddle means within said housing secured to one end of said piston, said saddle means having a centrally disposed store engaging portion and bell crank engaging lugs at the outer extremities thereof, and pin means connected to said saddle means;

suspension means connected to said pin means for releasably securing the store housed within said housing, whereby initial downward movement of the ejection means and pin means causes slack in said suspension means and thereby releases the store;

door opening means connected to both said ejection means and to said door for opening the same in response to movement of said ejection means;

and closing means connected between said housing and said door for closing the same at a predetermined delayed time after the store is ejected.

2. The unit as defined in claim 1 and including:

a streamlined shell having lugs thereon for engagement with a bomb rack,

said shell having a plurality of bays formed therein each releasably receiving one of said housings,

`and electrical means in each of said bays connected with said ejection means for selectively initiating the same.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein:

each housing includes spring biased hook means extending from within said housing to a location outwardly thereof,

and each of said bays includes mating means releasably receiving said hook means.

4. The self-contained unit of claim 1 wherein said door opening means includes:

bell crank lever means pivotally connected to said sidewall and having one arm thereof engageable by said lugs on said saddle means,

a connecting rod pivotally connected at one end thereof to said door, the other end thereof having an elongated .slot formed therein and being pivotally connected through said slot to the other arm of said bell crank lever,

latch means secured to said door and including means therein for engaging said sidewall of said housing and Voperable between a latched and an unlatched position,

connecting means pivotally connected at one end thereof to said other arm of said bell crank lever and connected at the other end to said latch means for moving said latch means to the unlatched position yin response to initial rotation of said bell crank lever means,

and spring means between said sidewall and said door for urging said door to the closed position.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 4 further including:

door bracing means pivotally connected to said sidewall of said housing and having gravitational abutment with said longitudinally extending door at a location intermediate the ends thereof.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said suspension means` includes:

a pair of precurved, thin, high tensile strength spring steel bands forming a partial circumferential envelope for the store, each including a loop at one end thereof for engaging said suspension band pin means on said saddle means,

latch means secured to the other end of said bands `for locking the store within the container,

and sway brace means secured to said housing and adjustable to urge the store against said latching means.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. 40 SAMUEL W. ENGLE, Examiner. 

1. A UNIFIED SELF-CONTAINED UNIT FOR HOUSING AND EJECTING A STORE COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: A HOUSING INCLUDING A PAIR OF PARALLEL SIDEWALLS AND HAVING A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING DOOR BETWEEN SAID SIDEWALLS; EJECTION MEANS SECURED TO SAID HOUSING FOR SELECTIVELY EJECTING THE STORE FROM SAID HOUSING, SAID EJECTION MEANS INCLUDING A CYLINDER EXTENDING FROM WITHIN SAID HOUSING TO A POINT EXTERNALLY OF SAID HOUSING, A PISTON MOVABLE WITHIN SAID CYLINDER IN RESPONSE TO A PROPELLING FORCE, SADDLE MEANS WITHIN SAID HOUSING SECURED TO ONE END OF SAID PISTON, SADDLE MEANS HAVING A CENTRALLY DISPOSED STORE ENGAGING PORTION AND BELL CRANK ENGAGING LUGS AT THE OUTER EXTREMITIES THEREOF, AND PIN MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID SADDLE MEANS; SUSPENSION MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID PIN MEANS FOR RELEASABLY SECURING THE STORE HOUSED WITHIN SAID HOUSING, WHEREBY INITIAL DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF THE EJECTION MEANS AND PIN MEANS CAUSES SLACK IN SAID SUSPENSION MEANS AND THEREBY RELEASES THE STORE; DOOR OPENING MEANS CONNECTED TO BOTH SAID EJECTION MEANS AND TO SAID DOOR FOR OPENING THE SAME IN RESPONSE TO MOVEMENT OF SAID EJECTION MEANS; AND CLOSING MEANS CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID HOUSING AND SAID DOOR FOR CLOSING THE SAME AT A PREDETERMINED DELAYED TIME AFTER THE STORE IS EJECTED. 